What I created and found this week

Dear everyone,
How are you doing? It's autumn in the Netherlands and it's getting chilly in the mornings and evenings. 🍂
My week was full of new experiences and learnings, such as trying to make handmade pasta, going for a morning walk, meeting various cats, and reading a lot of books.
The books that particularly struck me were "The Habit of Gratitude to Turn Every Day Around" by Scott Allan and "Three Happinesses Found by a Psychiatrist" by Shion Kabasawa.
I'd like to share some of the thoughts and feelings I had after reading the book.
Personally, I have always felt uncomfortable with the idea of ​​being "strict and stoic" as a virtue, and reading this book reaffirmed that my discomfort was not wrong.
When you feel gratitude, dopamine and serotonin are released in abundance, and your brain focuses on what you have and feels fulfilled. And you naturally focus your attention on the good things and good events in things.
On the other hand, if you try to find your own shortcomings and discipline yourself, you will eventually run out of energy, be unable to work hard, and burn out quickly. This is because it is the same as hurting yourself.
Even if you can get to a certain point, you will run out of energy along the way.
When you complain, your brain automatically tries to find more complaints in yourself and others, gradually reducing the happy hormone serotonin and increasing the stress hormone cortisol. (Cortisol is also said to be the cause of cancer and other diseases.)
Although it may seem like you are letting off steam, you are actually training your brain to be unhappy. It's important to be careful about the words you casually say.
The phrases that particularly struck me were, "You cannot change the past or other people."
"Gratitude represents a rich heart, while complaints represent a poor heart."
"Even if you have a chronic illness, the fact that you are breathing today means that you are healthy and able to live today."
"Many people complain that roses have thorns, but I am grateful that thorns have roses." Alphonse Carr
It all depends on how you look at things and how you perceive them. You can freely choose to be grateful or judge.
And if you can't take care of yourself, you can't take care of others. If you want to take care of someone important to you, first satisfy yourself. Being "gratitude" is a very easy way to satisfy yourself, anyone, anywhere.
That you woke up safely today, that you are breathing properly, that you had delicious coffee.
Even the smallest things are fine, so try to be grateful that you are alive here today, that your loved one is breathing today, and that they are smiling next to you. It would be even better if you could express that in words.
Thank you for reading this far 😌
Have a pleasant day.
With love.
Sumika
Movies and anime I watched this week
✳︎ Nikuko-chan of the Fishing Port
✳︎ The Cat Returns
✳︎ Dungeon Meshi
Books I read this week
✳︎ Three Types of Happiness Found by a Psychiatrist - Shion Kabasawa
✳︎ Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? -Dr. Julie Smith
✳︎ The Habit of Gratitude to Turn Every Day Around -Scott Allan
Empower your Gratitude -Scott Allan
✳︎ Black Marketing Nobuko Nakano x Masahiro Toriyama